“Here’s a perfect example of what I been talking about. Since this boy was suckin’ on his mama’s tit, he’s been given everything but discipline, and now his idea of courage and manhood is to get together with a bunch of punk friends and ride around irritatin’ folks too good-natured to put a stop to it.”

“Hey, who do you think you are, huh?”

“He’s just a dumb kid, Hubb. Don’t kill him.”

(youth scoffs, until a hand closes around his throat like a vice and the “old timer” looks him straight in the eye)

“I’m Hubb McCann. I’ve fought in two World Wars and countless smaller ones on three continents. I led thousands of men into battle with everything from horses and swords to artillery and tanks! I’ve seen the headwaters of the Nile, and tribes of natives no white man had ever seen before. I’ve won and lost a dozen fortunes, KILLED MANY MEN! And loved only one woman, with a passion a flea like you could never begin to understand. That’s who I am.”

-Hubb McCann, Garth McCann, and a young punkSecondhand Lions

Another favorite scene from Secondhand Lions. And it so describes the root of a number of our problems. People think that greatness is pushing other people around, and they couldn’t be more wrong.

Greatness is found in unselfish love and hard work.

Of course, as Hubb demonstrates, that doesn’t mean we have to be pushovers. 😉